Chapter 860 - 44 Muse

[For years, people have criticized our slow pace, claiming it’s difficult for us to catch up with a team already way ahead on the scoreboard.

They say our scoring rate isn’t quick enough, making it impossible to narrow the deficit in a short amount of time.

I disagree with this notion. We’ve played countless games, and there were instances where we were trailing by 20 points.

Sometimes, it’s inevitable. You can’t always hit the ground running; your opponent might adjust to the game sooner than you, or they might be better prepared, or perhaps we simply didn’t sleep well last night.

Even in such circumstances, we have always managed to claw back, make adjustments, and win the game in the end.

People misunderstand the Princeton System; it’s not a slow, endlessly passing approach to deliberately waste time.

Against the University of Arkansas, we were trailing by as much as 16 points, yet with only 1 minute left in the game, we were just 1 point behind.

We stayed grounded and played carefully, without panic, without attempting offensive strategies we’re unfamiliar with or haven’t practiced.

You can catch up, playing your style, scoring two points here, one point there—soon enough, the scores begin to pile up.

You have to understand how you play the game and grit your teeth through any adversity.

In this regard, the Portland Trail Blazers are the best team—of course, they rarely, if ever, fall behind.]

————Excerpt from "The Smart Take from the Strong," co-authored by Pete Carrell and Dan White, published in 1996.

The final score stood at 108:105, as the Trail Blazers secured a victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals at the Great Western Forum Arena.

Lakers fans were in despair; they knew their 1991 season had come to a premature end. No team in history has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit.

And yet, the Lakers played magnificently tonight. Fans witnessed flashes of their glory days from the glimmering ’80s—a beautiful, almost illusory time—before being ruthlessly pierced by the relentless pace and attack of the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers’ offense tonight wasn’t particularly explosive, but under the pressure of playing as the away team, they played united, resilient basketball, enduring the Lakers’ tidal wave of attacks head-on.

The devil is always in the details. Despite an average offensive performance, the Trail Blazers meticulously tended to the small things, preventing any disadvantage from snowballing into disaster.

Tonight, the Trail Blazers had 8 fewer turnovers than the Lakers, grabbed more rebounds, and caused headaches for Lakers players through staunch defense.

Many seemingly guaranteed shots by Lakers players were disrupted by the Trail Blazers’ tough and unyielding defense, robbing Magic Johnson of at least 5 assists.

Once the situation stabilized, the Trail Blazers, under Ah Gan’s leadership, methodically wore down the Lakers’ stamina and dissipated their good rhythm.

At the most critical juncture, Gan Guoyang took over the game, once again driving a dagger straight into the heart of Los Angeles and securing the win.

This was the kind of loss that stems purely from an inability to match the opponent’s hard power. Up and down the Lakers’ lineup, there was no room for complaint—they were simply outplayed.

As he was leaving, Jack Nicholson grabbed Gan Guoyang and said, "Ah Gan, I hate you. You’ve truly broken my heart!"

Gan Guoyang replied, "I’ve broken far too many hearts, Jack—you’ll have to wait your turn."

Nicholson said, "I really wish you’d come to Los Angeles. How about joining the Lakers?"

Gan Guoyang smiled and shook his head, responding, "I already conquered Los Angeles long ago; there’s no need to do it again. Just enjoy your life here, Joker."

Nicholson had played the iconic villain Joker in the 1989 Batman film, leaving a lasting impression.

Watching Gan Guoyang walk away, Nicholson let out a deep sigh and shouted, "You’d better come back and conquer it again! Damn... Jerry, that guy—how long is he going to play the spy? Don’t tell me he never intends to return here."

Nicholson had his heart set on recruiting Jerry West once his contract was up, hoping to lure Ah Gan to the Lakers, enacting a grand Trojan Horse plan.

But his idea was clearly a bit fantastical—Jerry West, enjoying his time in Portland, didn’t seem to miss Los Angeles much.

When facing his old team in the postseason, West originally had no plans of coming to Los Angeles. Once the Lakers’ icon as a star player and championship-winning general manager, he still harbored some psychological barriers.

On the court, West was clutch incarnate, but off the court, he was famous for avoiding high-stakes games.

To avoid personally witnessing losses, he would opt to stay home and sleep, waking up in the dead of night to turn on the news and find out the results.

But Gan Guoyang told Jerry West, "Don Nelson was a former Celtics player. He sank a buzzer-beater against you guys and still went on to coach the Lakers. So what’s the big deal? You should come to Los Angeles and see how we win Game 4."

Eventually, Gan Guoyang convinced West to come over. West sat stiffly on the bench throughout the game, watching the action unfold. Lakers fans were kind to him; many greeted him warmly when he made an appearance.

The only unresolved tension was between Jerry West and Lakers owner Buss. After the game ended, the two brushed past each other without exchanging a single word.

To Buss, West was a traitor. To West, it was Buss who first betrayed him by choosing Nielsen.

Of course, all feuds are destined to fade as time passes, buried along with the people involved.

The Lakers, trailing 0-3, had lost the will to resist. This season, they were good enough, but they simply couldn’t outmatch the Trail Blazers.